Medical Missions for Children

CONTACT:

3 Ocean Terrace #3
Salem, MA 01970
508-697-5821
www.mmfc.org

Dr. H. Dennis Snyder, Chairman

DESCRIPTION:

In the United States, children born with cleft palates or other facial defects are treated within weeks of their birth, with corrections continuing for as long as they are needed. In poor countries, most children thus afflicted are simply doomed to go through life disfigured. MMFC was founded in 2000 to provide free surgical, medical, and dental care to needy children and young adults worldwide. Each of its missions has a special focus: in Peru, Ecuador, and Guatemala, surgical reconstruction of cleft lips and palates, and dental care; a separate mission to Quito, Ecuador, creates ears for children born without them; a team to Ukraine performs plastic surgery on children and young adults with severe burn scars. Surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists, pediatricians, and nutritionists all donate their time and talents to make each 7-10 day mission possible. Residents from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Cornell University, and Yale University have had their training enriched by participating on MMFC teams. MMFC cultivates lasting relations with colleagues and institutions in the host countries so that after teams leave they can continue to provide or supervise follow-up care. Resources for these missions can never meet the needs, but the results are so life-enhancing, wouldn’t you like to help make more possible?

(2004: INTERNATIONAL)